Referring initially to FIGS. 1-4 solely for purposes of understanding the anatomy of a heart 10, and specifically the left side of the heart 10, the left atrium (LA) 12 and left ventricle (LV) 14 are shown. An aorta 16 receives oxygenated blood from left ventricle 14 through an aortic valve 18, which serves to prevent regurgitation of blood back into left ventricle 14. A mitral valve 20 is positioned between left atrium 12 and left ventricle 14, and allows one-way flow of the oxygenated blood from the left atrium 12 to the left ventricle 14.
Mitral valve 20, which will be described below in more detail, includes an anterior leaflet 22 and a posterior leaflet 24 that are coupled to cordae tendonae 26, 28 (FIG. 4). Cordea tendonea 26, 28 serve as “tension members” that prevent the leaflets 22, 24 of mitral valve 20 from moving past their closing point and prolapsing back into the left atrium 12. When left ventricle 14 contracts during systole, cordae tendonae 26, 28 limit the upward motion (toward the left atrium) of the anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24 past the point at which the anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24 meet and seal to prevent backflow from the left ventricle 14 to the left atrium 12 (“mitral regurgitation” or “mitral insufficiency”). Cordae tendonae 26, 28 arise from a columnae carnae or, more specifically, a musculi papillares (papillary muscles) of the columna carnae. In various figures herein, some anatomical features have been deleted solely for clarity.
Anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 of the mitral valve 20 are generally thin, flexible membranes. When mitral valve 20 is closed, anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 are generally aligned and contact one another along a “line of coaptation” several millimeters back from their free edges, to create a seal that prevents mitral regurgitation. Alternatively, when mitral valve 20 is opened, blood flows downwardly through an opening created between anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 into left ventricle 14.
Many problems relating to the mitral valve may occur and may cause many types of ailments. Such problems include, but are not limited to, mitral regurgitation. Mitral regurgitation, or leakage, is the backflow of blood from left ventricle 14 into the left atrium 12 due to an imperfect closure of mitral valve 20. That is, leakage often occurs when the anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24 do not seal against each other, resulting in a gap between anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 when the leaflets are supposed to be fully coapted during systole.
In general, a relatively significant systolic gap may exist between anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 for a variety of different reasons. For example, a gap may exist due to congenital malformations, because of ischemic disease, or because the heart 10 has been damaged by a previous heart attack. Such a gap may also be created when congestive heart failure, e.g., cardiomyopathy, or some other type of distress which causes a heart 10 to be enlarged. Enlargement of the heart 10 can result in dilation (stretching) of the mitral annulus. This enlargement is usually limited to the posterior valve annulus and is associated with the posterior leaflet 24, because the anterior annulus is a relatively rigid fibrous structure. When the posterior annulus enlarges, it causes the posterior leaflet 24 to move away from the anterior leaflet 22, causing a gap during systole because the two leaflets no longer form proper coaptation. This results in leakage of blood through the valve 20, or regurgitation.
Blood leakage through mitral valve 20 generally causes a heart 10 to operate less efficiently, as the heart 10 pumps blood both out to the body via the aorta 16, and also back (in the form of mitral regurgitation) into the left atrium 12. Leakage through mitral valve 20, or general mitral insufficiency, is thus often considered to be a precursor to congestive heart failure (CHF) or a cause of progressive worsening of heart failure. There are generally different levels of symptoms associated with heart failure. These levels are classified by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system. The levels range from a Class 1 level which is associated with an asymptomatic patient who has substantially no physical limitations to a Class 4 level which is associated with a patient who is unable to carry out any physical activity without discomfort and has symptoms of cardiac insufficiency even at rest. In general, correcting or reducing the degree of mitral valve leakage may be successful in allowing the NYHA classification grade of a patient to be reduced. For instance, a patient with a Class 4 classification may have his classification reduced to Class 3 or Class 2 and, hence, be relatively comfortable at rest or even during mild physical exertion. By eliminating the flow of blood backwards into the left atrium 12, therapies that reduce mitral insufficiency reduce the workload of the heart 10 and may prevent or slow the degradation of heart function and congestive heart failure symptoms that is common when a significant degree of mitral insufficiency remains uncorrected.
Treatments used to correct for mitral valve leakage or, more generally, CHF, are typically highly invasive, open-heart surgical procedures. In extreme cases, this may include implantation of a ventricular assist device such as an artificial heart in a patient with a failing heart. The implantation of a ventricular assist device is often expensive, and a patient with a ventricular assist device must be placed on extended anti-coagulant therapy. Anti-coagulant therapy reduces the risk of blood clot formation for example, within the ventricular assist device. Reducing the risks of blood clots associated with the ventricular assist device is desirable, but anti-coagulant therapies may increase the risk of uncontrollable bleeding in a patient, e.g., as a result of a fall.
Rather than implanting a ventricular assist device, bi-ventricular pacing devices similar to pacemakers may be implanted in some cases, e.g., cases in which a heart beats inefficiently in a particular asynchronous manner. While the implantation of a bi-ventricular pacing device may be effective, not all heart patients are suitable for receiving a bi-ventricular pacing device. Further, the implantation of a bi-ventricular pacing device is expensive, and is generally not effective in significantly reducing or eliminating the degree of mitral regurgitation.
Open-heart surgical procedures that are intended to correct for mitral valve leakage, specifically, can involve the implantation of a replacement valve. Valves from animals, e.g., pigs, may be used to replace a mitral valve 20 in a human. While a pig valve may relatively successfully replace a mitral valve, such replacement valves generally wear out, thereby requiring additional open surgery at a later date. Mechanical valves, which are less likely to wear out, may also be used to replace a leaking mitral valve. However, when a mechanical valve is implanted, there is an increased risk of thromboembolism, and a patient is generally required to undergo extended anti-coagulant therapies.
A less invasive surgical procedure involves heart bypass surgery associated with a port access procedure. For a port access procedure, the heart may be accessed by cutting between ribs or sometimes removing parts of one or more ribs, as opposed to dividing the sternum to open the entire chest of a patient.
One open-heart surgical procedure that is particularly successful in correcting for mitral valve leakage and, in addition, mitral regurgitation, is an annuloplasty procedure. During an annuloplasty procedure, a medical device such as an annuloplasty ring may be implanted surgically on the left atrial side of mitral annulus (i.e., generally the attachment location of the base of the mitral valve to the heart). The device reduces a dilated mitral valve annulus to a relatively normal size and, specifically, moves the posterior leaflet closer to the anterior leaflet to aid anterior-posterior leaflet coaptation and thus improve the quality of mitral valve closure during systole. Annuloplasty rings are often shaped substantially like the letter “D” to correspond to the natural shape of the mitral annulus as viewed from above. Typically, the rings are formed from a rod or tube of biocompatible material, e.g., plastic, that has a DACRON mesh covering.
In order for an annuloplasty ring to be implanted, a surgeon surgically attaches the annuloplasty ring to the mitral valve on the atrial side of the mitral valve. Conventional methods for installing a ring require open-heart surgery which involves opening a patient's sternum and placing the patient on a heart bypass machine. The annuloplasty ring is sewn on a top portion of the mitral valve. In sewing the annuloplasty ring onto the mitral valve, a surgeon generally sews the straight side of the “D” to the fibrous tissue located at the junction between the posterior wall of the aorta and the base of the anterior mitral valve leaflet. As the curved part of the ring is sewn to the posterior aspect of the annulus, the surgeon alternately acquires a relatively larger amount of tissue from the mitral annulus, e.g., a one-eighth inch bite of tissue, using a needle and thread, compared to a relatively smaller bite taken of the fabric covering of the annuloplasty ring. Once the thread has loosely coupled the annuloplasty ring to the mitral valve annulus tissue, the annuloplasty ring is slid into contact with the mitral annulus. The tissue of the posterior mitral annulus that was previously stretched out, e.g., due to an enlarged heart, is effectively reduced in circumference and pulled forwards towards the anterior mitral leaflet by the tension applied by annuloplasty ring with the suture or thread. As a result, a gap between anterior leaflet 22 and posterior leaflet 24 during ventricular contraction or systole may be reduced and even substantially closed off in many cases thereby significantly reducing or even eliminating mitral insufficiency. After the mitral valve 20 is shaped by the ring, the anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24 will reform typically by pulling the posterior leaflet 24 forward to properly meet the anterior leaflet 22 and create a new contact line that will enable mitral valve 20 to appear and to function properly.
Although a patient that receives an annuloplasty ring may be subjected to anti-coagulant therapies, the therapies are not extensive, as a patient is only subjected to the therapies for a matter of weeks, e.g., until tissue grows over the annuloplasty ring.
Another type of procedure that is generally effective in reducing mitral valve leakage associated with prolapse of the valve leaflets involves placing a single edge-to-edge suture in the mitral valve 20 that opposes the mid-portions of anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24. For example, in an Alfieri stitch or a bow-tie repair procedure, an edge-to-edge stitch is made at approximately the center of the gap between an anterior leaflet 22 and a posterior leaflet 24 of a mitral valve 20. Once the stitch is in place between the anterior and posterior leaflets 22, 24, it is pulled in to form a suture which holds anterior leaflet 22 against posterior leaflet 24.
Another surgical procedure that reduces mitral valve leakage involves placing sutures along a mitral valve annulus around the posterior leaflet 24. These sutures may be formed as a double track, e.g., in two “rows” from a single strand of suture material. The sutures are tied off at approximately a central point (P2) of posterior leaflet 24. Pledgets are often positioned under selected sutures to prevent the sutures from tearing through annulus 40. When the sutures are tightened and tied off, the circumference of the annulus 40 may effectively be reduced to a desired size such that the size of a systolic gap between posterior leaflet 24 and an anterior leaflet 22 may be reduced.
While invasive surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the treatment of mitral valve leakage, invasive surgical procedures often have significant drawbacks. Any time a patient undergoes open-heart surgery, there is a risk of infection. Opening the sternum and using a cardiopulmonary bypass machine has also been shown to result in a significant incidence of both short and long term neurological deficits. Further, given the complexity of open-heart surgery, and the significant associated recovery time, people that are not greatly inconvenienced by CHF symptoms, e.g., people at a Class 1 classification, may choose not to have corrective surgery. In addition, people that need open heart surgery the most, e.g., people at a Class 4 classification, may either be too frail or too weak to undergo the surgery. Hence, many people that may benefit from a surgically repaired mitral valve may not undergo surgery.
In another method, a cinching device is placed within the coronary sinus (CS) using a catheter system, with distal, mid, and proximal anchors within the lumen of the CS to allow plication of the annulus 40 via the CS. In practice, these anchors are cinched together and the distance between them is shortened by pulling a flexible tensile member such as a cable or suture with the intent being to shorten the valve annulus 40 and pull the posterior leaflet 24 closer to the anterior leaflet 22 in a manner similar to an annuloplasty procedure. Unfortunately, since the tissue that forms the CS is relatively delicate, the anchors are prone to tear the tissue during the cinching procedure. In addition, the effect on the mitral annulus may be reduced when the CS of a particular patient is not directly aligned with the mitral annulus. Other minimally invasive techniques have been proposed but have various drawbacks related to such factors as effectiveness and/or accuracy of catheter-based implementation.